During Leo Mazzone's tenure as Atlanta Braves pitching coach, he schooled the terrific trio of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. And he might have done a bit more.

In an interview with SiriusXM on Wednesday, Mazzone said Smoltz used pine tar to doctor baseballs when he pitched.

Said Mazzone: "One time Smoltzy had it on his shoes and I said, 'John, you can't keep bending over and touching your shoes all the time. Let's put it someplace else!' "

On Thursday, however, Mazzone was backing off those comments and trying to set the record straight.

"We were trying to have some fun on the air and in trying to have some fun somebody took a story and ran with it and said that I said that Smoltzy cheated in the game," Mazzone told WNNX-FM in Atlanta on Thursday morning.

Mazzone also expressed disappointment that his comments, which he claims were taken out of context, have created such a stir.

"I am so angry about it because somebody took it and ran with it and said 'the Braves pitchers were cheating,' " Mazzone told WNNX. "That's a bunch of bologna."

Interestingly, however, Mazzone didn't deny that pine tar was used.

"With something like pine tar, that's not doctoring a baseball," Mazzone told WNNX. "That's trying to get a grip when it's cold. What's wrong with that?"

During his 21-season major league career, Smoltz went 213-145 with 3.33 ERA and 154 saves. Twenty of those seasons were spent with the Braves, with whom he won the 1996 NL Cy Young award. In that season, Smoltz led the NL in wins (24), strikeouts (276) and innings pitched (253 2/3) while posting a 2.94 ERA.

Mazzone didn't mention any other Braves pitchers by name when speaking to SiriusXM, but hinted that the cheating wasn't an isolated event.

"I know that in my little ball bag I had firm grip and all kinds of goodies to take care of a baseball to get a little more movement on it," Mazzone told SiruisXM.

Mazzone was the team's pitching coach from 1990-2005. During that time period, Maddux won three NL Cy Young awards, Glavine won two and Smoltz won his lone award. Also during that span, the Braves' 3.60 staff ERA was the best in the majors.